fieldtrip overview

The fieldtrip was a five day company tour in Manila. We were divided into 4 buses for the first and last day and 3 buses for the 2nd to the 4th day. Different buses go on different companies but the travel agency made sure that all the students have equal experiences with regards to technical visits. Also scheduled with our trip to manila was our national seminar which was held on UP diliman Campus. The first day only had a single company visit because it was already noon when we arrived in manila. The succeeding days had at least 2 company visits and some sightseeing.

Day 1.

We travelled for manila and then headed to our lunch destination after the plane landed. We visited the ByanTel then and learned about their Networking. It was just a short discussion though. After that we had our daily fun run and it was on MOA for today. We spent the rest of the afternoon there and also had our dinner at a restaurant nearby. And it was resting time after.

Day2.

Woke up early and prepared for the departure for the national seminar venue at UP Diliman. We had our breakfast at Grills and Sizzles located on Examiner Street. We headed to UP after that. In UP we had our national seminar at UP ITTC with guest speakers to talk about different things related to IT and CS. The first speaker talked about effective thesis writing. A topic our facilitator personally requested because we needed it. The speaker told us that when working with a thesis it is important to manage your time and if you lose your interest in what you are doing then do something else that would get you back working after. It was full of knowledge and very informative. The second speaker talked about data visualization. A very interesting topic for me, but that the speaker failed to get the students attention because the example used at the presentation of the topic. We could not relate with the example that he has chosen that was why we lost our interest to listen. Then the third speaker started his speech. He started it with an introduction of showing us their educational offers and other stuffs like that. After that he proceeded with his topic. After the third speaker the next speaker woke everyone up. She talked about multimedia and showed some of her works. She also shared what the requirements are to be in her spot. Then the last speaker for the day started his speech. He was a foreigner teaching in Up. He is a game developer and that was his topic he shared with us how to get into that career, what are the skills needed and how to actually get there.
After our seminar we had our luch and headed straight to UP ayala TECHNO HUB. There we visited Seachange who showed and endorsed us VOD or video on demand and IBM who offer free servers for use and is leading in the world of innovation. That is what we did on our second day.

Day3.

We went to ASTI and watched their developers as they presented their projects like the bayanihan linux OS, the multi tester, the GSM device for PC and other projects. After their presentation we had our lunch and headed for the Social Security System head quarters in East Avenue, Quezon City. There we learned how SSS works and their benefits. Also their networking and data security representative gave us some info on how and when they started to automate their services. He also told us about their server and the backup server located outside the city. After the seminar and discussions we then toured their facilities. After touring the technical visit for the day was over and it was now time for having fun and it was on Tutuban mall and dinner was on us. We did some window shopping and some walking and got tired and went back to the hotel and rested.

Day 4.

Day 4 have a single company visit scheduled and it was on hitachi GST where terabyte hardisk drives are born. As usual it was breakfast and then travel. As we arrive to hitachi GST we were given a clothe to cover our shoes and then started the tour on their museum type room where their history is written. After that very short tour we were then made watch a video about their history and the development of terabyte hardisk drives. After the film showing we then toured the facility where we watched all the processes a wafer goes through before it becomes a data writer. After the tour we headed for our lunch venue which was on max’s restaurant in Tagaytay where the Taal volcano was our background as we eat. It was an amazing view seeing the top of the volcano. after our lunch we travelled to people’s park in the sky to buy some souvenir items and more sightseeing. Arriving at the park we feasted our eyes with the views and the variety of available souvenirs in store. But it was all in a rush because the best part is yet to come. After the short shopping spree and sightseeing we then headed to the most awaited part of the fieldtrip the enchanted kingdom ride all you can adventure. And there I have experienced the best ride of my life the roller coaster of the enchanted kingdom was the best. But unfortunately it was the only ride we got on to because of the time. But it was all worth it. It was so tiring that we got back to the hotel and rested.

Day 5.

Last day of the fieldtrip and we checked out of the hotel early and travelled to our first technical visit which was on TTI and there we listened to a lecture about telecommunication and how it works, the use of routers and repeaters and some other topics about telecommunication. Also we toured their facilities and saw what repeaters look like. After that discussion we then climbed to the second floor and saw a wireless antennae used for acquiring wireless internet connection. Then the speaker explained how it works. Then we went to their roof top to see a satellite dish and learn how it works and after that discussion about the satellite dish and how it catches signals it ended our TTI tour. It was no lunch time and time to travel to the lunch venue. After a quick lunch we then headed to the MMDA headquarters to see their facilities. There we were shown the MMDA’s server which was still DOS based and very outdated but the presenter said that they are just waiting for a decision from the upper management to upgrade their system. After that very short tour we went to their monitoring department that has a lot of monitors showing different parts of the Manila roads and highways. What we were seeing was live feed from their cameras installed all over Manila. While there their representative explained to us what they are doing there and what they usually do. After the discussion they made us watch some accident file videos and most of them are caused by motorcycle or reckless driving. That was the last technical visit scheduled for our fieldtrip. After that we then travelled to SM and spent the rest of our time there before our flight back to Davao. When it was time to go we then travelled to NAIA to wait for our flight back to Davao and it was the end of our fieldtrip.

That is what happened during our 5 days fieldtrip to Manila.